Is short stature a handicap for otherwise healthy children?: short stature - does it matter/ a review of the evidence; experiences of being short - should we expect problems of psychosocial adjustment?; some patients with an idiopathic short stature see their short stature as a problem, but others do not - what makes the difference?; peer and self perception of children with short stature - the role of recognition; the psychosocial functioning of adults who were short as children. Short stature and chronic disorder: stress, resources and psychosocial adaptation to short stature in childhod - a study in pathological growth disorders; psychosocial aspects of growth retardation in Turner Syndrome - preliminary results; body height, body image and general well-being in adult women with Turner's syndrome. Short stature and quality of life assessment: can the clinical and empirical evidence regarding adjustment to short stature be reconciled?; height and person perception - an evolutionary perspective; deviations in growth and pubertal development and their treatment - how consistent are patient's and physician's outlooks?; measuring health-related well-being in children, particularly in those of short stature; perpectives of multidimensional life quality research in paediatric growth disorders. Variation of normal growth patterns and their consequences: adaptation of growth - secular trend and catch-up growth; precocious and delayed puberty - psychology and clinical management. Effects of psychosocial disorders on growth: psychosocial short stature - follow-up to adolescence and adulthood; psychosocial failure to thrive.